Gatorade and Ice Pops
by sparkshift
Summary: Bella gets sick, and Edward gets the chance to take care of her. Post Twilight.


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Gatorade and Ice Pops

"How much hotter can it _get_?" I half moaned, half rasped. Seriously, one body could only take so much heat until it exploded. How much more could _I_ take?

Beside me, Edward chuckled, though it was slightly mingled with his anxiety and worry, which threw off his attempt at sounding fine. "Love, it's only sixty out right now, and it's getting colder. You may be slightly biased in your assumption."

I managed to slightly turn my head and glare at the inhumanly beautiful angel sitting beside me, careful to not look in his eyes. I already was light headed enough.

"I'm sorry. I can't help that I'm running a fever!" I muttered weakly, trying to inflect annoyance, though you couldn't really hear it. My voice kept cracking, losing any force in it.

Edward sighed, and gently placed his hand on my forehead. The cold felt so good on my skin. "You do feel warmer than usual," he murmured. "Maybe I should have Carlisle come over to check on you."

I quickly shook my head, resulting in a wave of nausea to pass over me. I gulped, and then sighed. "No, it's alright. It's just the summer flu. I just need to lie down, and you need to keep your hand on my face."

Edward sighed. "Would you at least like me to go get you something to drink? You need to stay hydrated." He sat up as he spoke, and put his other hand to my cheek. I sighed in pleasure at his cool touch. "Yes, I need to get you something to drink," he muttered to himself.

I looked up at him just as he blurred away, leaving me alone in my room. For a moment, I worried about Charlie, before remembering he had gone to work, afraid of getting sick himself. He probably would go to the Black's house to watch a game before coming home. I heard the sound of the fridge opening up and closing, and then Edward was right next to me again, holding a purple Gatorade.

He flashed a crooked smile at me when he saw my confused face. "Alice apparently thought that you might need some of this, so she went to the store and got you a pack of it," he explained. I nodded weakly. He opened the bottle and handed it to me, helping me sit up as well.

I took a few large gulps of the purple liquid, which felt good on my sore throat and in my tender stomach. But suddenly feeling full, and knowing not to drink anymore, I stopped. I really didn't want to get sick with Edward right next to me. That would be horrible.

"You need to drink more," Edward encouraged, pushing the bottle back at me after I tried to put it on my nightstand. "It'll help you get better."

I shook my head lightly, careful this time to make myself feel worse. "I don't think I can hold that much down right now, actually," I admitted, my cheeks becoming pinker than they already were.

Edward nodded to himself, probably thinking about some of his old medical degrees or things from Carlisle's work. "Would you like me to get you some ice pops? I could have Alice or Esme run to the store and get some for you."

I shook my head again. "You guys don't need to be doing anything for me, really. I've been sick before and usually had to take care of myself and Renee."

Edward pursed his lips at me and pulled out his cell phone before I could protest. His fingers dialing a number faster than I could see, he put the phone to his ears and spoke quickly into it. "Esme? Yes, this is Edward. No, it's just Bella. She has the flu, and has a bad fever. Yes, that would be wonderful. Could you grab some more Gatorade for her as well? I don't want her to dehydrate and get any worse. Thank you Esme," he said sincerely, before shutting the phone with a smile.

He turned to me, with the small smile still present on his face. Again, it hit me how angelic he was, how someone as great as him never could be meant for me. He was too perfect.

Interrupting my depressed musings, he told me what Esme had said. "Esme's going to go to the store for you and get some flavored ice pops and some Gatorade. She told me to tell you she says 'get better.'"

I gave him a weak smile. "Edward, this really isn't necessary. I just need to lay down for a bit and stay hydrated. It's nothing big, really. Just the flu." As I finished, I noticed Edward's face darken slightly, and realized that that hadn't been the most tactful thing to say. I hurriedly tried to fix the mistake I made. "What I mean in, there's medicine today, and—"

He put a cool hand over my mouth, halting me rambling. "It's alright Bella. In these times, the flu really isn't that much to get worried over. You've been taking you antibiotics and getting rest, so you'll be fine. I just can't help but worry a bit."

I lifted my hand to my face to cover his, and moved his granite hand to the side of my face. "You worry too much," I whispered, gazing into his amazing golden eyes, finally losing myself in their sincere depths. I reminded myself to take a breath, which turned out to be slightly shaky.

"I only worry because your so fragile, Bella," he said in a light tone, kissing the tip of my nose playfully, effectively breaking the sudden seriousness of the atmosphere.

Opening my mouth to tell him a solution to being so fragile, I quickly shut it. I didn't feel like fighting Edward today on the subject of my mortality, worried that I was so out of it he might get me to say I actually _wanted_ to stay human. And that would never be true. I wanted to always be with Edward.

Instead, I yawned and leaned into him, using his wondrously cold chest as a pillow—the best pillow in the history of pillows. He chuckled slightly, and stroked my hair with one hand and held me to him with the other. It was a very comfortable position.

We were both quiet and peaceful then, the only sounds being our breathing and my heartbeat. I suddenly felt so much better, and snuggled in closer, falling into the daze right before sleep.

After an immeasurable amount of time, Edward gently sat up, trying not to wake me, I guessed. He set my head down on my pillow carefully, and I groggily yawned, reaching for him.

"I'll be right back," he told me. "Esme's here with the things for you." He kissed my forehead and ghosted out of the room. I tried to watch him go, but my body betrayed me and my eyes strayed shut, and I fell back asleep.

Later, I woke back up, feeling slightly better. My fever seemed to have gone down, and I didn't feel as stuffy. Beside me, there was something cool that seemed to seep into me. The cold felt good, and I moved closer, wrapping my arms around it.

"Hey there sleepy," the person beside me teased, stroking my hair. "You fell asleep, but Esme said to say hi," he told me.

My eyes flew open, and I stared up at his brilliant face. His skin was glowing faintly from the muted light coming from the shades on my window, and his eyes seemed impossibly warm as he stared down at me. "Esme was here?" I asked, surprised. I hadn't been asleep that long, had I?

He seemed to guess the direction my thoughts were taking. "You've been asleep for about two hours, love. You needed the rest, so don't feel bad." He tenderly pushed the hair out of my face.

"I just feel bad for you. I mean, I keep just randomly falling asleep. You must be bored out of you mind!" Chagrin washed through me as I thought of the many hours I had spent unconscious, leaving him pretty much to himself.

Edward chuckled. "I really don't mind. You say very interesting things in your sleep when you're sick. Much more…odd, I must say," he added as an after thought.

My eyes widened as I felt my cheeks go a deeper red than they had been the whole time I've been sick so far. What had I said that amused him so much? I thought back, but realized that I didn't remember any of my dreams from the previous days, so I had no idea of what could have spilled from me.

He noticed my embarrassment, and stroked my cheek, cooling down the burning patch of red. "It was nothing bad, love. I suppose you were just dreaming about some old memories you had. You never told me you almost fell of a pier."

My face—now as red as a tomato— buried itself into his chest. "I didn't think I needed to tell you every little embarrassing clumsy thing I've ever done," I mumbled, my voice scratchy. I coughed slightly, pulling back from him before coughing harder.

"Bella?" Edward asked anxiously. I held up a finger, asking for him to give me a moment. Getting the last of the coughs out, breathing heavily, I looked up at him sheepishly.

"I guess I'm not getting as better as I thought I was." I looked down, my face red from coughing. His hand twined with mine, feeling so good against the fire still inside of me.

"You're burning up again," he murmured, touching my forehead with his other hand. "I'll be right back," he said thoughtfully after a short moment's thoughts.

I began to protest, but he was gone already. Before I could even cal out his name, he was back with a still wrapped Popsicle in his hand. As long as he was holding it, it probably wouldn't melt, I thought to myself in dry amusement.

"Here you go," he said, pulling the wrapper off in one pull of his strong hand. A little bit of ice came off and sprinkled the bed, and I giggled slightly. He made a face and handed me the strawberry Popsicle.

I quickly ate the whole thing, just biting chunks out of it instead of waiting for it to melt. Edward laughed at me as I hurriedly stole all the coldness into me.

"Thank you," I said happily, leaning into him, feeling tired again now that I wasn't so warm. Why did being sick have to be so crazy? You think I would feel better and ready to move around, not ready to fall asleep.

And Edward really didn't help at all. When he recognized the cloud of drossiness that was passing over me, he quietly began to hum my lullaby, instantly lulling me to sleep. I snuggled up against him just as I succumbed to the darkness of sleep.


End file.
